Pneumatic water-elevator



(No Model.)

S. W. HUDSON. PNEUMATIC WATER ELEVATOR.

No. 248,749. Patented Oct. 25,1881.

UNiTnn STATES PATENT Trice.

SAMUEL WV. HUDSON, OF HUDSONDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

PNEUMATIC WATER-ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,749, dated October25, 1881,

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL W. Henson, ofHudsondale, in the county of Carbon and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented an Improved Pneumatic IVater-Elevator, of which the followingis a specification.

The accompanying drawingshows my invention organized in the way now bestknown to me; but obviously the various details of construction may bechanged without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawing, which is an elevation, partly in section, Ais a tank orvessel, which is caused to rise and sink in the water-reservoir X byalternately forcing compressed air into it and exhausting the air fromit. In rising and falling the tank, which is preferably circular, isguided by guide-wheels a a, which run on vertical rails B, of whichthere should be three.

A valve'ohest, D, in which an ordinary slidevalve Works, is secured uponthe tank, with the interior of which it communicates. The exhaust andair compressing pipesE and F are connected with the valve-chest. and theslidevalve, which is operated by the elbow-lever d, alternately puts theexhaust and compressedair pipes into communication with the interior ofthe tank, as will be well understood. Suitable exhaust and compressingapparatus are to be connected with the pipes E and F. The opening in theenlargement or cup a in the bottom of the tank A is closed by aninletvalve, o The water-elevator pipe G is connected centrally to thetop ofthe tank, and this upper opening in the tank is closed by theoutlet-valve It. A pipe, H, extends from the valve h to the enlargementa in the bottom of the tank A. To permit of the rising and falling ofthe tank the pipes E F G are made flexible at e, 7, and g.

Atasnitable height a stationary tank, I, with which the water-elevatorpipe Gr communicates,

is arranged. This tank is exactly similar in construction to the risingand falling tank A, and is provided with a similar valve-chest,withwhich the exhaust and compressed air pipes are connected by cross-pipese f. From the tank I an elevator-pipe, G, extends up to another tank, J,exactly similar to I, and similarly connected with the exhaust andcompressed-air pi es.

- It will be observed that theinlet and outlet valves of each tankpermit the water to rise, but prevent it from descending.

I have shown but two stationary tanks, I J; but of course any number areto be used, according to the height to which the water is to beelevated.

The elbow-lever d of the tank A is rocked to operate the slide-valve bystriking against adjustable stops 0 c on the rod 0 as the tank rises andfalls, while the levers I J are operated by stops on a vertical rod, K,which is mounted on the rising and falling tank. This rod shouldhaveguide-bearings at suitable intervals.

It will be observed that the elbow-lever I is pivoted above theslide-valve, while the lever J is pivoted below its valve, and as aconsequence the movement of each valve is the reverse of the other. Thuswhen the compressedair port is open to the tank I the exhaust-port willbe open to the tank J. In every case the exhaust-pipe will beincommunication with the tank when the slide-valve is thrust in, and thecompressed-air pipe in communication with the valve is drawn out.Whatever may be the number of stationary tanks employed, each valve willbe controlled as just mentioned, so that while the compressed air isadmitted into one tank the air will be exhausted from the one next aboveit.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Supposing there is nowater in the elevatorpipe and stationary tanks, that the tank A is sunkand full of water, that the stop 0 has thrown the elbow-lever (I up andplaced the compressed-air pipe F in communication with the interior ofthe tank, and that the stop ion the rod. K has thrown the lever at Idown and placed the exhaust-pipe E in communication with the tank I. Thepressure of the air in A and the power of the exhaust in I will jointlyact to force and raise the water from the tank A into the pipe G andtank I. The tank A, becoming buoyant, will rise until the elbowlever (lstrikes the stop 0, when the com pressedair port at A will be closed andthe exhaust opened, as shown in the drawing, and the tank will commenceto sink. At the same moment the stops on the vertical rod K operate theslide-valves at the stationary tanks I and J.

At I the compressed-air pipe is put into communication with the tank,while at J the exhaust-pipe is opened to the tank. The water in the tankis thus raised to the tank Jby the 5 joint action of the pressure in thetank I and the power of the exhaust in the tank J. As the tank A risesagain the water in it will be eley'ated to the tank I, as beforedescribed, while the water in the tank Jwill be elevated 'o to the tanknext above by the combined action of the pressure in J and the exhaustin the tank above. The last lift or discharge of the water will be doneby pressure only. The operation, as will be readily understood, con- 15tinues in this way, whatever may be the number of stationary tanks,thewater being raised from one tank to the one next above by the combinedaction of the pressure and the vacuum, so that if the machine is workingat a. pressure of fifty pounds and a vacuum of ten pounds it will have alift of one hundred and twenty feet.

There is but little friction of machinery to be overcome in theoperation of my apparatus, and, as a consequence, less power is requiredto elevate a given amount of water. Again, the water, being elevated bypressure at one end and avacuum atthe other, rises withgreater facilitythan if pressure alone were employed. Further than this, the vacuum andpressure may be created by the same machine, and less power and lessheavy machinery would be required to create a given vacuum and pressurethan to create a pressure alone equal to them in power.

The operation of my improved machine is entirely automatic, and thecolumn of water, being practically continuously elevated, acquiressomething of a momentum, which facilitat-es its elevation.

As before remarked, any required number of stationary tanks can beemployed and the water elevated to a very great height.

A machine speciallyadapted for use in connection with this apparatus isshown in Letters Patent No. 244,243, granted to me July 12, 1881,inwhich an endless chain carrying piston-heads runs over sprockets,creating an exhaust on one side of the machine and a pressure on theother.

The adjustable stop 00 should be so adjusted to limit the rise and fallof the tank A as not to allow it to sink deep enough to bring the wateron a level with the opening into the valve-chest, as otherwise theapparatus in exhausting would draw the water up into the exhaust-pipe.The adjustable stops on the vertical rod K should also be adjusted tooperate the valves, so that the waterin the stationary tanks shall notrise to the valve-opening.

I have shown my apparatus organized to elevate the water vertically; butobviously it could be constructed to operate at any angle, and it seemsunnecessary to describe or show 5 such a construction.

Of course water maybe elevated by my improved apparatus by pressurealone or by vacuum alone; but where the acuum only is employed thedistance between the tanks, or height of lift, will be limited. WVhenthe apparatus is working with pressure, when the pressure is in the tankA there will be no pressure in the tank 1 above, and when the tank A issinking there will be no pressure in it, but there will be in the tankI, and so on for the whole series, each alternate tank being thrown intocommunication with the compressed-air pipe and the remaining orintermediate tanks out of communication with it at one movement of thetank A, and vice versa, exactly as above described, when pressure andvacuum are both employed. When the apparatus is working with pressurealone the compressed air escapes through the pipes E and c.

This apparatus is especially adapted for rais' ing water from n1ines,inwhich case, when compressed airis usedeitheralone or withavacuuni, itcan be conveyed in pipes to any desired point and used for ventilation.In working the apparatus by vacuum only the alternate series of tankswill be thrown into and out of communication with the exhaust-pipe inthe same manner as before described, and when any tank is cutout ofconnection with theexhaust it should be thrown open to the atmospherethrough the pipe F--that is, it' there is a vacuum in I operating toraise water from A, A should be open to the atmosphere, in order toobtain the atmospheric pressure and allow the water to rise, and so onthroughout the series of tanks. No change in the valve mechanism isrequired to operate with pressure or vacuum alone or with both combined.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of aseries of water-tanks having inlet and outletvalves, water-elevating pipesconnectingtheimexhaustandcompressedairpipes connected with each tank, and automatic valve mechanism whichintermittently operates to place each alternate tank in communicationwith the compressed-air pipe and the remaining or intermediate tanksinto communication with the exhaust-pipe, and vice versa.

2. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the rising andfalling tank, itsinlet and outlet valves, a series of stationary tanks,their inlet and outlet valves, connecting water-elevatin g pipes,exhaust and compressed air pipes connected with each tank, and automaticvalve mechanism operated by the rising and falling of the tank, whichintermittently operates to put the compressed-air pipe intocommunication with each alternate tank and the exhaust-pipe intocommunication with the intermediate or remainingtanks,and viceversa.

3. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the rising andfalling tank, its inlet and outlet valves, the exhaust andcompressed-air pipes connected with the tank, the

slide-valve, its elbow-lever, and the adjustable stops for operating thelever.

41. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the risingand falling tank, its inlet and outlet valves, the stationary tanks,their inlet and outlet valves, exhaust and compressed-air pipesconnected with each tank, the slide-valve of the rising and fallingtank, its lever, the adjustable stops for operating it, the vertical rodK, the slidevalves of the stationary tanks, their levers, and theadjustable stops for operating them.

5. The combination, substantially as herein set forth, of the rising andfalling tank, its inlet and outlet valves, a series of stationary tanks,their inlet and outlet valves, connecting SAMUEL W. HUDSON.

Witnesses:

WM. G. FRYMAN, J OSEPH KALBFUS.

